FOUR decades ago, the Filipino people showed the world the undeniable power of unified, faith-driven action. The EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986 was not merely a political transition; it was a moral and spiritual awakening that dismantled a brutal dictatorship responsible for plunging our nation into an abyss of human rights abuses, rampant corruption, and economic ruin.
Today, as we commemorate this historic triumph of democracy, we find ourselves confronting a sobering reality. Forty years later, the very family ousted by the people's righteous anger has returned to the highest seat of power. And with them, the same systemic injustices that fueled the resistance during martial law continue to suffocate the marginalized.
As a Church steeped in the nationalist and revolutionary tradition of the Filipino people, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) refuses to view EDSA as a mere relic of the past. We view it as a continuing imperative.
Currently, our leaders peddle the illusion of a peaceful and developing nation. We are told that there are no more rebel groups in the country and that the insurgency has been defeated. Yet, we must ask: whose reality are they reporting on?
A militarist approach to solving the insurgency problem cannot and will not work because the socio-economic conditions of our country—poverty, landlessness, and staggering inequality—spawned the movement in the first place.
On this 40th anniversary of EDSA, I call upon the faithful and all freedom-loving Filipinos to rekindle the courage of 1986. Let us continue our prophetic witness and social advocacy for the interest of justice and peace. Let us demand a government that serves the people, not the political dynasties.
The spirit of EDSA lives on so long as there are Filipinos willing to stand in the gap, speak truth to power, and proclaim freedom for the oppressed.
RT. REV. FELIXBERTO CALANG
Bishop, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Diocese of Cagayan de Oro(IFI-CDO)
Convenor, Sowing the Seeds of Peace in Mindanao
